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Main Authors: Lévy, Hugo, Bergé, Joël, Uzan, Jean-Philippe
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.03769
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author Lévy, Hugo
Bergé, Joël
Uzan, Jean-Philippe
author_facet Lévy, Hugo
Bergé, Joël
Uzan, Jean-Philippe
contents Scalar-tensor theories with screening mechanisms come with non-linearities that make it difficult to study setups of complex geometry without resorting to numerical simulations. In this article, we use the $\textit{femtoscope}$ code that we introduced in a previous work in order to compute the fifth force arising in the chameleon model in the Earth orbit. We go beyond published works by introducing a departure from spherical symmetry $\unicode{x2014}$ embodied by a mountain on an otherwise spherical Earth $\unicode{x2014}$ as well as by implementing several atmospheric models, and quantify their combined effect on the chameleon field. Building on the numerical results thus obtained, we address the question of the detectability of a putative chameleon fifth force by means of space geodesy techniques and, for the first time, quantitatively assess the back-reaction created by the screening of a satellite itself. We find that although the fifth force has a supposedly measurable effect on the dynamics of an orbiting spacecraft, the imprecise knowledge of the mass distribution inside the Earth greatly curtails the constraining power of such space missions. Finally, we show how this degeneracy can be lifted when several measurements are performed at different altitudes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_03769
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle What to expect from scalar-tensor space geodesy
Lévy, Hugo
Bergé, Joël
Uzan, Jean-Philippe
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Scalar-tensor theories with screening mechanisms come with non-linearities that make it difficult to study setups of complex geometry without resorting to numerical simulations. In this article, we use the $\textit{femtoscope}$ code that we introduced in a previous work in order to compute the fifth force arising in the chameleon model in the Earth orbit. We go beyond published works by introducing a departure from spherical symmetry $\unicode{x2014}$ embodied by a mountain on an otherwise spherical Earth $\unicode{x2014}$ as well as by implementing several atmospheric models, and quantify their combined effect on the chameleon field. Building on the numerical results thus obtained, we address the question of the detectability of a putative chameleon fifth force by means of space geodesy techniques and, for the first time, quantitatively assess the back-reaction created by the screening of a satellite itself. We find that although the fifth force has a supposedly measurable effect on the dynamics of an orbiting spacecraft, the imprecise knowledge of the mass distribution inside the Earth greatly curtails the constraining power of such space missions. Finally, we show how this degeneracy can be lifted when several measurements are performed at different altitudes.
title What to expect from scalar-tensor space geodesy
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.03769